"Angkor is so popular now," said tour organizer Hima Singh, who specializes in Asian Pacific tours. "It's the temples; everyone wants to go. Of all the temples in Asia, those are the best. The scale is beautiful; the workmanship is exquisite."

The tours begin in Thailand, focusing on the nation's culture, art, architecture and cuisine. The group visits the Grand Palace in Bangkok, sees the Thai and Khmer ruins in Sukhothai, then flies to the Golden Triangle of northern Thailand to visit tribal villages. In Myanmar, the focus will be on the temples and pagodas of Pagan's golden age, which began in the 11th century.

The trips end in Cambodia at Angkor, considered the cultural and spiritual heart of Khmer civilization.

The Oct. 21 escorted tour will include cooking lessons and visits to vineyards and markets combined with daylong excursions.

The group will spend a week on Lake Maggiore in Northern Italy as well as five nights on the Italian Riviera in Portovenere.

Cost: $3,590 per person, double occupancy (single surcharge $400), including daily breakfast and dinner, ground transportation, local guides and most entrance fees. International airfare to Italy is not included.

Stargaze in the Southwest
LIGHT up your nightlife on stargazing journeys and behind-the-scenes tours of some of the nation's best-known Southwestern astronomical destinations.

An Oct. 2-9 tour, accompanied by an editor from Sky & Telescope magazine, will visit Kitt Peak National Observatory in southern Arizona, home of the world's largest collection of optical telescopes. Other stops include Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Grand Canyon National Park and the Barringer Meteorite Crater, also in the Arizona desert.

A separate New Mexico tour, planned Oct. 9-16, will focus on aerospace and astronomy. The group, also accompanied by a Sky & Telescope editor, will visit Los Alamos National Laboratory, the UFO Museum in Roswell and the Albuquerque International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. The group also will visit the VLA (Very Large Array) radio telescopes near Socorro, Apache Point Observatory and National Solar Observatory at Sacramento Peak.

Cost: The Arizona tour is $1,655 per person, double occupancy (single surcharge $200), including accommodations, most meals, admissions, sightseeing and stargazing sessions. The New Mexico tour is $1,698 per person, double occupancy (single surcharge $220). Airfare is not included on either tour.